CHAPTER 1 WHAT ALREADY HAPPENED

"Was Cole alone?" the man asked as he followed Byrne into the alley behind the club. "Did he come in with someone, or meet someone here?"

"Not that I saw," Byrne said. "As far as I know, he was alone." He played it cool and casual. Having observed Cole and the people closest to him for some time now, Byrne knew that this man—Gabe—was no fool. Right now, Gabe was running on adrenaline, concerned for the welfare of his husband. But given enough time to think… he might just figure out that something was off with this whole situation. Byrne didn't intend to give him time to think.

Grabbing the boy was easier—not because the kid was stupid, but rather, he was younger, smaller, and Byrne caught him alone and unaware. Plus, he had a gun. The boy had clearly thought about making a run for it, but he was smart enough not to act recklessly when his adversary was armed.

Gabe was their prime target, though. His dad had warned him not to fuck this up. Bringing in the boy had been a mediocre accomplishment—the kid was merely bait for the others. Still, his dad promised he could have the boy to do with as he pleased once he delivered Gabe. The kid was young and fresh and… beautiful. Byrne lusted for his virgin flesh… salivated for his screams… craved his blood.

Focus,Byrne chided himself as his dick got hard just thinking about what he would do to the boy. There would be no playtime with the kid if he didn't finish this job first.

Byrne was halfway down the dead-end alley before he realized Gabe wasn't right behind him. He glanced behind him and noticed the other man's footsteps had slowed as he looked cautiously around the alleyway.

"The door is right over here," Byrne spoke, maintaining his calm.

Uncertainty and… wariness?... pinched Gabe's face as he kept a short distance between them yet continued to follow Byrne.

Come on, asshole,Byrne silently berated the man, get closer.

Byrne had a gun, but the alley was dark and if he drew his weapon, Gabe had a fair chance of evading him without getting shot. And Byrne didn't want to fire blindly. If he killed Gabe—there would be hell to pay. He needed the man up close where Byrne retained the leverage.

"Hey," Byrne said when he halted outside the door. "You coming?"

Gabe approached with that air of caution. "This doesn't make sense," he murmured. "Cole doesn't do things like this."

"Has he been acting at all off lately?" Byrne asked. "Maybe something's been troubling him that he didn't tell you about."

"He tells me everything," Gabe said, yet a sliver of doubt pierced his words. He walked closer, his eyes trained on Byrne.

He's wary of me. That's not good.

"What did you say your name was?" Gabe asked, eyes narrowing.

"I didn't. But it's Mark."

"Have you been working here at the club since it opened?"

"Uh, yeah." Byrne grew agitated but maintained control.

"Are you from New York?"

"Yes." Byrne flexed his hands.

Gabe drew a little closer. "What was my husband wearing tonight?"

"What?" Byrne frowned. His heart pumped faster. "I don't know—clothes. I was more concerned with his condition than what he was wearing. Why?"

"You had to have noticed something. You dealt with him up close, right? Helped him to the back room to lie down. You didn't even notice what color of shirt he wore, or what kind of shirt it was?"

"Look, why are giving me the third degree?" Byrne growled. "I didn't have to call you. I could've thrown his ass out and let him fend for himself."

"Mm-hm." Gabe suddenly rushed him, slamming him against the stone wall of the alley. He crammed his arm against Byrne's throat, pinning him to the bricks. Gabe's face twisted in a snarl. "Who the fuck are you? Is Cole even here?"

Byrne's mouth twitched with a smile. "You're too smart for your own good. You should've played along, and everything would've gone smoothly."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." Byrne grinned with evil glee.

"Where the fuck is Cole?"

"I don't know… probably home by now."

"What…?" Gabe frowned.

"I'm tired of your questions." Byrne reached beneath his jacket and slid the knife from its sheath. "It's time to finish this."

"Finish what—" Gabe grunted when Byrne plunged the blade into his side.

The man didn't fall back as Byrne expected but wrestled the weapon from Byrne's grasp. The bloody blade slipped free of both their hands and struck the pavement with a hollow clack.

"Motherfucker!" Gabe hissed and elbowed Byrne in the face, cracking his head against the stone wall. He saw stars for a moment and his legs went rubbery.

Son of a bitch—the fucker was strong!

And he wasn't going down!

"Who are you!" Gabe railed and threw Byrne to the ground. Gabe lost his footing and landed on top of him, pummeling him with his fists.

"Fucker!" Byrne wheezed and dug his hand into the man's gushing wound. Gabe cried out and Byrne shoved the man off him and scrambled to his feet.

Gabe dragged himself upright, one hand pressed to the bleeding hole in his side. His face twisted in rage and pain as he came at Byrne again.

Fuck!Byrne pulled out the gun, but Gabe was too close. The man launched himself at Byrne and the two went down again. The gun fired, missing its target as it flew from his hand. Fuck-fuck-fuck! Byrne squirmed away from the man, got to his feet, and took off toward the mouth of the alley. The gunfire would draw attention. The cops would come. Fucking hell!

His dad would not be happy about this indefensible fuck up.

"Worthless piece of shit!" Daniel nailed Byrne in his bruised face and dropped him. He stepped forward and loomed over the man. "You ran away?" Daniel kicked him in the stomach. "You wounded him, and he still got the better of you?" He scoffed and dragged Byrne to his feet and slammed him against the wall, clutching the front of his jacket. Daniel's face twisted. "You are a fucking waste of sperm. I should've killed you and your worthless mother the night she squeezed you out. You have never been of any use to me." He delivered a gut punch that knocked the wind out of Byrne, then grabbed the nape of his neck and wrenched his head back. "He was our prime target. You not only failed to deliver him—you tried to kill him!"

"I didn't…" Byrne wheezed, "… try to… kill him." He coughed. "I was trying to… take him down."

"You had a fucking gun," Daniel hissed in his face. "You couldn't have persuaded him with that?"

"He jumped me without warning. If I'd shot him that close-up, it would have killed him."

Daniel growled and pulled out a knife. He pressed the tip against the younger man's jugular. "What do I even need you for now?"

Byrne stared back at him, unfazed by the blade to his throat. "I haven't told you everything," he said dully. "Henry knows some dangerous people. You'll want to know who they are, so you can watch out for them."

Dangerous people? Daniel didn't want any surprises. His success in the past was due to vigilant, thorough observation of his victims before grabbing them. Byrne knew things about Henry that he hadn't yet shared with Daniel. And that was the only reason Daniel didn't gut his wretched spawn then and there.

"I've never been any use to you?" Byrne stared coldly into Daniel's eyes. "I'm the one who found Henry. I got you off that bus. You'd be next in line to ride the lightning if not for me. And I always did my part back before your golden child slit your throat."

Daniel pushed the tip of the blade harder against his throat. "You sent me to prison. Maybe you're regretting it now."

"I'm my father's son," Byrne mumbled dispassionately. "I feel no remorse for anything I've done." He squinted thoughtfully. "Well, maybe I do regret one thing."

"What's that?" Daniel growled.

Byrne looked him dead in the eye. "Not butchering the golden boy when I got rid of his mother." Cold satisfaction etched the younger man's face as Daniel absorbed his words.

"What…?" Daniel trembled and squeezed the knife handle, his knuckles whitening. "Mary died in an accident."

"Did she?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes to slits. "For your sake…" he hissed between clenched teeth and pierced Byrne's skin with the tip of the blade. "… she better have." A blood drop trickled down his throat.

Byrne smiled dully and said nothing.

"You…" Daniel ground his teeth. "… killed my wife?"

"I did."

Daniel's face twitched. "Why?"

"Why not?" Byrne murmured. "I learned it from you. My mom. Henry's mom. They're all just dead weight… right?" Resentment darkened his eyes. "Except… you weren't going to butcher his mother, were you? You had no plans of teaching him the ways by having him kill his mom."

Daniel snarled and shifted the blade, so the edge pressed against Byrne's throat. "I should kill you now, you worthless little bastard."

"I did what needed to be done," Byrne said. "She made you weak. When you were with her, you forgot who you were. I wanted things back the way they were… the way they were supposed to be. When it was just you and me… the lessons… the blood." His eyes flashed with a spark of hatred. "But you kept him after his mom was dead. We should have killed him—together. He was never like us, no matter how hard you tried to turn him. Why did you keep trying? Why was he your favorite—I did everything you told me to do."

The little fucker killed Mary. The day would have come when Daniel had to deal with her himself, but that day was still a long way off when she died. As much as he wished to gut his oldest boy where he stood, Daniel still needed him. He stepped back, lowering the knife.

"Is that so?" he spoke low, brittle. "You did everything I said? Do you remember your time in the cabin? The animals? I instructed you on what to do, and you continued to make a mess of them, time and again. You didn't learn shit."

Byrne touched his throat, smearing the blood drop on his skin. "Then why did you make me your partner? I found those women for you. Caught them. It was Henry who didn't learn shit." He scoffed. "He still isn't learning, is he?"

Daniel squeezed the knife in his fist. "He will." Would he, though? Henry had gone silent. He wasn't responding to Daniel's messages or calls. If he didn't make contact soon, Daniel would have to teach him a hard lesson about disobedience.

His phone buzzed just then. Daniel checked his cell. A message from an unknown sender. Daniel opened the message.

‘I'm not ignoring you. My phone broke. I'm using Gabe's phone now. Please don't hurt my friends… I'll do anything you want.'

Henry.

Daniel smiled small and responded. ‘Anything??'

A short pause, then the answer: ‘Yes.'

Hm. Daniel stroked his chin. He made a call this time. The line rang a few times. Daniel waited while Henry found the courage to answer.

The line picked up, but no one spoke.

"After all this time, aren't you going to say hello to your old man?" Daniel sneered in a low, ominous voice. "Henry."

Things were about to get very interesting.